How to Touch a Girl
by Stessa
Summary: Do you know how to touch, know how to touch a girl? - Gabriella likes Ryan, but her friends are convinced he's gay. She's sure he isn't, but how can she really know? A dance? A conversation? Fluffy, flower-filled Ryella one-shot based on Jojo's song.


**How to Touch a Girl **

**A Ryella song-fic written by Stessa**

**--ooo--**

_Mmm_

_I think I could like you  
I already do  
Feelings can grow but  
They can go away too  
You're taking my hand  
Looking into my eyes  
Don't be in a rush to  
Get me tonight_

Gabriella was confused.

When she looked at him, she didn't know what to think or what to feel. She knew she liked him; more than she probably should. More than was probably healthy. She liked how he always outdid himself and dressed up nicely, even if he just had to go to school. And like summer, when he went all white and red just to support his school. She liked the hats he always wore; they were bright and cheerful and suited him well. It made him stand out from the crowd just like he was supposed to. He shouldn't live in his sister's shadow forever – he was meant for greater things.

But apparently the rest of her friends didn't share her opinion on things. Chad found Ryan cool; he was good at baseball and Chad liked everyone who could play sports, but they weren't exactly friends. Troy was never comfortable around Ryan and with good reason. Gabriella had been sure Troy was the one guy she was supposed to be with, but when summer ended, so did their untrusting relationship. They were still very close friends, in fact, he was probably her best male friend, but Troy still didn't like Ryan. Taylor didn't even talk to Ryan much; they all liked talking about him, and Gabriella had a feeling that Taylor knew how she felt about the male twin, she had just never said anything.

They really liked talking about the twins at lunch. Zeke was somewhat dating Sharpay, and he went on and on and on about her, but no one really listened to him. The rest of them mainly had their focus on Ryan Evans and what he was up to lately. They really liked commenting on his love life, which bothered Gabriella. According to the guys he asked out a lot of girls, but they always turned him down. Chad was convinced that Ryan was still in the closet, and just asked out girls to take focus off of his hidden sexuality. It bothered her to hear him say that.

She followed Ryan as he crossed the cafeteria to sit down by his usual table with the drama club. Even after joining the baseball team, he still did drama alongside Sharpay, and he still sat with her at lunch; he probably felt bad for her, if she had to sit alone. Gabriella knew she would have, had it been her twin sister. Plus, Ryan was such a sensitive guy; he wouldn't want to hurt her or make her feel bad. No matter what she had done in the past, he'd always treat her right, Gabriella could feel that, even if he stood up to her, and didn't do what she told him to anymore.

Gabriella couldn't help but sigh loudly as he sat his lunch tray down and swung his long leg over one of the benches. She didn't even realized that she was just randomly picking up fries and dipping them in something that they definitely not were supposed to be dipped in.

"You might as well give up, you know."

Gabriella turned her head to the side, her eyes slowly adjusting to the new face; it was Taylor. She was looking at her with a knowing look in those warm brown eyes, and a sneaky smile on her face, "What?" Gabriella slowly asked, still not totally out of Ryan-Land.

"On Ryan." Taylor elaborated and suddenly the entire table was listening to them, "Give up on him, Gab. He's not into you."

Chad looked like the dumb basketball dude he was, as his mouth fell open, "Who's not into her? Everybody should be."

Taylor gave him a disbelievingly look and whacked him on the side of his head, "Ryan's not into her. I'm telling her to give up her crush on him already. It's been like… four months now. Since summer ended."

Gabriella hated that Taylor knew her so well, even if it was nice to have a friend like her to tell everything to. What she hated the most about Taylor right now though, was that she had a big mouth and decided bluntly (without consulting Gabriella) that everybody should know about her crush, which had… turned into much more in her own eyes.

"Taylor, please keep quiet…" she whispered lowly, even if she knew it was no use. Taylor probably hadn't even heard her.

"You like Ryan!?" Martha questioned, amusement streaming through her huge eyes, "Don't go there. Kels has been, and she told me it not ended well. He didn't even respond to her, when she tried flirting with him."

Troy rolled his eyes, "Of course he didn't respond to her – the boy's gay. He likes guys."

"No he doesn't." Gabriella objected and shot Troy a mean glare. She didn't want to listen to this. She knew Ryan wasn't gay. He just couldn't be. There was no possible way. He might act a bit feminine, but he wasn't. He didn't look at guys and he didn't comment on anything; he was like all the other guys. He just dressed better, and didn't date tons of blonde bimbos.

"Oh yes he does." Zeke chipped in, bringing some fact onto the table, "Sharpay told me so."

"Sharpay tells a lot of crap." Gabriella mumbled, and digged her fork into the salad her mother had made for her; she doubted Sharpay would ever tell Zeke the truth. She might treat him better and sort of date him, but she would never be an angel. She said a lot of things that weren't true.

"Hey!" Zeke was offended, but she got him to back off.

"Face it Gabriella," Chad said, using his soft voice, "he's into guys. You should really move onto someone else. This school is full of guys who'd love to date you."

Gabriella arched an eyebrow in his direction, wondering when he got so sweet (it was probably Taylor), "No, and no. And maybe. But I still want Ryan. Face it Chad."

"But he looks at guys all the time!" Troy objected, apparently he was determined to get her out of this. She didn't know why. She would like to think it was jealousy, but he was probably jut being Troy; he had some weird ideas at times.

Gabriella snorted and turned back to Chad, "'Fro, you play baseball with him all the time, has he ever looked at you in the changing room?" Gabriella wasn't even crossing her fingers for him to say no, because she knew the answer by heart. Of course Ryan had never looked at Chad in the changing room; he liked girls. He was straight.

Chad seemed to think about if for a few seconds, a serious look across her face. Had Taylor not been dating him, she would sure have commented on it; saying something about him using his last brain cell for this, "No." he finally said, and smiled hugely at Gabriella, "No, he hasn't."

Gabriella couldn't help the smile that came to her face, "Well, there you go." She said, and stabbed a piece of tomato, before putting it in her mouth. That was the perfect comeback in her opinion.

"That does not mean he doesn't fantasize about guys." Zeke pointed out and got back into the game. So far, the only one who hadn't participated was Jason, but Gabriella suspected that that was because he actually was gay, and knew that Ryan definitely _wasn't_.

"Would you guys cut it out!?" Gabriella said, and hammered her fork onto the table, "You might think you know him, but I know him better. I learned all about him during summer. I saw the _real _him." She gave them all a perplexed look and sighed dreamily, "He's the guy for me. And he's not gay, he just… hasn't realized that I'm the girl for him yet."

Taylor sighed and reached a hand to the side, placing it on top of Gabriella's to calm the Latina down a bit, "Gab… You might see that because you want to. You can never be sure."

"Just wait," Gabriella said, feeling confident, "because he's gonna ask me to the dance and I'll prove you wrong. Just you wait, it'll happen." She knew it was a cheap shot, and she couldn't possibly know if he wanted to take her or not. But she'd just have to talk to him more, throw a couple of hints and then if they did go, maybe she could try and talk to him there.

"Don't get your hopes up." Troy stubbornly said, as he went to focus on his lunch again, leaving Gabriella be.

She turned her head to the side again, and watched as Ryan talked to Kelsi by their table. The small pianist was nodding knowingly, her curls bouncing, and the light reflecting in her glasses. Gabriella wondered if she was over him yet, but it looked a lot like it. She was about to turn her head back to her food, when Ryan turned his, and their eyes met. She felt a blush rise to her cheeks as he shot her a charming smile. Gabriella this time turned her head, and tried not to smile.

_I feel something happening  
Could this be a spark?  
To satisfy me baby  
Gotta satisfy my heart_

There were only days to the dance, and Gabriella was losing her mind. She could feel Taylor's eyes on her these days and she knew what she was thinking; she was doubting this 'bet' of hers. She had been so sure that Ryan would have responded to all her moves and picked up on her hints, but he hadn't. They'd talked more than usual, but so far he hadn't asked her. She felt quite disappointed. She didn't even want to go to that stupid dance if he wasn't her date.

She leaned against her locker as she followed Ryan's form with her eyes. He was talking to Sharpay in front of his locker. He said something and Sharpay laughed her over exaggerated laugh, before she hurried down the hallway, her Jimmy Choos flip-flopping all the way.

"Give uuuup." A voice sang in her ear, and Gabriella turned her head only to find Taylor standing right next to her, a science book tugged beneath her arm.

Gabriella faked gasped and tried to act positive; she hadn't been the lead in the musical for nothing, "I will not." She told her best friend, as Ryan closed his locker across from them, and stood still, as if he was thinking, "There's still time until the dance." She continued, probably more to convince herself than Taylor.

"I'm telling you, girl," Taylor said, as she eyed Ryan too, "he won't ask you. He's not into you. I think he's into _Jason_."

"He is not!" Gabriella said, and nudged her shoulder with her own, "He's not gay… he's just," she searched for the right word on her tongue, and when she finally found it, she couldn't be more happy about it; it fit him perfectly, "shy."

Taylor shook her head in disbelief. "You're impossible. It's like… you're asking to get hurt. I warned you about Troy, and now I'm warning you about Ryan." She pushed herself away from the row of lockers and stepped in front of her friend, "How did that happen anyway? You went from singing basketball lunkhead to acting, jazz-dancing gay-guy? That's some confusion, girl."

Gabriella sighed deeply and gave her an odd look, "Just stay out of it, Tay. I appreciate you getting involved, but… If you're not gonna be more supportive, then just…" she turned away from her, "Stay away, alright." She finished, and opened her locker.

Taylor mumbled something and turned on her heel to get to her own locker which was just a few ones down.

Gabriella felt bad for telling her best friend off like that, but weren't girlfriends supposed to be there for each other, not shoot each other down? Weren't they supposed to listen to every thought the other had and just tell them everything would be okay? She just… she wished Taylor was more supportive towards her crush on Ryan. She knew she should never choose a boyfriend over her best friend, but she had to take this chance. She _knew_ she and Ryan had something.

She turned away from her locker again and closed it, glad that Taylor was gone for now. She knew they had to make up, but not right now. She almost jumped out of her skin, when she saw Ryan right in front of her. Glancing quickly at the floor, she lifted her head to meet his eyes.

"Hi." She softly said.

Ryan nervously shifted on his feet, "Hey…" he replied back, as he stared deeply into her eyes. She loved his eyes. They held so much emotion and she couldn't help but picture them when she was trying to sleep at night.

She shot him a nervous smile; why was she nervous again? Him coming up to her like this, had got to mean something, hadn't it?, "Anything you wanted?" she questioned – she had to start a conversation up, and he did look like he had something to say.

Ryan scratched the back of his head, and she tried to read the look in his eyes, but she couldn't, "I ah…" he trailed off and let out a nervous laughter, "I just had to, y'know…"

"Yeah?" Gabriella asked, her heart beating in her chest. This was her moment, she was sure of it. He was going to ask her to the dance; she had been wanting this for _so_ long. Did she look alright!?

Ryan swallowed loudly, "Doyouwanttogowithmetothedance?"

Gabriella arched an eyebrow. She believed she could make out what he just said, but she wasn't sure enough to actually answer him, "Excuse me?"

Ryan blinked a couple of times, "Can I borrow you science notes?" he asked, and Gabriella's heart sank. She was sure he had asked her to the dance first, but suddenly it was all about science. Maybe her mind had played tricks with her just before and told her things she wanted to hear but actually weren't hearing?

"Sure…" she mumbled, and sadly nodded her head, hoping he couldn't see the disappointment in her eyes, "I'll bring them for you tomorrow."

"Thank you." Ryan formally said, and gave an awkward nod. He looked like he was about to say more, but then he offered her another smile and turned around on his heel, hurrying down the hallway.

Gabriella could feel the sadness washing over her again, and yet she still turned to look at Taylor, who was still by her locker, knowing it wouldn't help at all. And it didn't. Taylor smiled goofily at her, before she gave her two thumb-downs, and Gabriella leaned back against the locker, letting out a groan.

_Do you know how to touch a girl?  
If you want me so much  
First I have to know  
Are you thoughtful and kind?  
Do you care what's on my mind?  
Or am I just for show?  
You'll go far in this world  
If you know how to touch a girl_

Gabriella made her way into school, feeling sad and let down. She had no date to the dance that evening. It really blew. She would be one of the only girls who didn't have a date. Sharpay had a date! She had gotten several offers, but had ended up picking Zeke, to his delight, and the others' hate; they'd had to listen to him all through lunch yesterday. Gabriella found it sort of cute, though – the guy was so in love. She knew she would have acted the same way, had Ryan asked her.

But nothing told her he would. It was probably too late now. She actually pondered about just staying home. It would be better than to show up alone. She knew though, that Taylor would never let her. That girl was so independent; she would tell Gabriella that boys were just boys and that life was about bigger things; Gabriella would nod along like she believed her and end up sitting on her butt all evening, because she was bored out of her mind.

She didn't want to listen to all these girls gush about their dresses for the evening. Gabriella didn't even have a dress for the occasion. If she ended up going, she'd just have to pick something out of her closet. But it didn't bother her that much; it was okay. It wasn't important anyway, when Ryan wasn't taking her. She ignored Sharpay and the Sharpettes as they giggled about something, and changed directions – towards her locker.

She stopped abruptly when she came into eyesight of it. Two girls were standing next to it, awe-ing over a bouquet of flowers which sat in a vase on the floor. Gabriella took a step closer and shot the two girls questioning looks. "What's this?" she asked them.

"Somebody likes you." the redhead said, her eyes huge. She probably wished someone would do that for her.

"They're for me?" Gabriella questioned and bent down to pick the flowers out of the vase. A card was attached. She flipped it over, and read the sentence out loud, "_I'm sorry, but I like you._" she turned back to the girls with a raised eyebrow, "That's… weird." She settled for saying.

The girl who was not the redhead didn't seem to think so, "That's so romantic! Do you have any idea who it could be from?"

"Not a clue." Gabriella mumbled, but couldn't help but feel warm. She knew who she hoped they were from, but chances were tough. She didn't get why it said 'sorry' either, but she loved the flowers. Whoever placed them there must have wanted to make her happy, and she had to admit – mission accomplished.

The two girls left, still gushing completely about the flowers and Gabriella leaned herself against her locker as she studied the flowers again. The were beautiful. No doubt expensive. She wished the card had given her a clue as to who they were from. She just wished it was Ryan.

"Wow, beautiful flowers."

Gabriella looked up, only to find Jason standing there, a casual look across his face. She smiled warmly at him, because she felt like he was the only one of her friends who just understood her these days. He might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but there was something great about him. "Yeah." Gabriella said, and pushed herself away from her locker, "I don't know who they're from, though."

Jason gave her an odd look, "Well, I think they're from Ryan. Who else could it be?"

"So he's not gay, huh?" Gabriella questioned him, a weird feeling streaming through her body. If he was gay, Jason would know. Didn't they have like a gaydar or something?

Jason smirked and pushed her gently in the side, "He's definitely not gay, I'd be sure if he was."

Gabriella sighed happily. She had known that. She had tried to explain it to everyone else, but no one seemed to listen to her. It was nice to have Jason with her right now. He was such a sweetheart. If he hadn't been gay and she hadn't been in love with Ryan, she was sure they would have made the perfect couple.

"He hasn't asked you to the dance yet?" Jason asked her, a curious look in his eyes.

Gabriella shook her head in defeat. She didn't really want to talk about it, but since he asked, she might as well, "Nah, so I'm gonna have to go alone."

Jason shot her a small smile, "Well… I'm sorta glad he hasn't. Not for your sake-" he quickly added, when she was about to ask what the hell he meant about that, "-but for me." he paused, "Obviously I haven't been able to ask a girl, so… If you wanna go together, we both won't be alone. You can always try to woo Ryan once you're there. I think he's taking one of the Sharpettes because she couldn't find a date."

Gabriella couldn't hide the huge smile that came to her face with his suggestion. That was the cutest thing he could have ever said. Suddenly her evening looked so much better!, "You'd really take me?" she asked him, hope shining through her brown eyes.

"Of course." Jason said, "I'll pick you up at seven fifty, and we'll go." He gave her a short hug, and she didn't know what to say. He went to leave, but before he did, he turned around again, "I'd get those into some water. Ryan will be crushed if they die."

Gabriella quickly looked down at the flowers and couldn't help but smile happily so herself. This suddenly looked _way_ better.

_Do you know how to touch, know how to touch a girl?  
Do you know how to touch, know how to touch a girl?_

Seriously. She was so excited. She hadn't thought she would be, but it seemed okay to go with Jason. It would be a fun night, and she wouldn't look like a total loser, showing up alone. It was perfect. She would try to talk to Ryan, to maybe get him to dance a bit. Of course he'd be with Sharpay a lot and the one of the Sharpettes that he brought, but she'd still try to get his attention – it was the perfect night, if she did say so herself.

She looked good, she decided. She had decided on a strapless pink summer dress she had worn a lot when it was hot outside, and she knew it looked good on her. It had a nice flow around her knees, which she knew would look awesome when she danced. She choose ballet shoes to go along with it, and just did a light make-up. Her hair was simple and down, nothing too out of the ordinary. She knew some girls had gone all out for this evening, but she wasn't one of them.

Her mother was thrilled to know that she was going anyway. She wanted Gabriella to be apart of everything, since she had never been a very outgoing girl, and since coming to East High she had changed. Gabriella was happy to go too; it felt nice to be a part of it, she knew that.

"Gabby! Jason's here!" she heard her mother holler, and Gabriella checked her appearance another time in the mirror before she grabbed her purse and danced down the hallway, meeting Jason with a hug.

"Hi." She told him, "Thanks for taking me."

Jason smiled warmly, "It's my pleasure, you look beautiful." he told her, and she couldn't help but blush, even if it was just friendly.

She swatted him across the chest, "You look rather handsome yourself." She replied, before she turned to her mother and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "The dance ends at one. I don't know if I'll be home before. We'll see."

"You two have fun." Her mother said and smiled at Jason too; she knew all about their situation, so she wasn't about to go all parent-y on him, and tell him to treat her daughter nicely.

Gabriella waved goodbye to her and linked her arm with Jason's as they made their way down the porch and towards his car. It was an old beat-up truck, but she was still amazed. She didn't know why some people disliked Jason; he was such a good guy. Was it just because they knew he wasn't like them? What was the deal about all that anyway? Why did people talk like that? She didn't get it, and she was sure she never would.

He opened the car door for her and helped her inside like a real gentleman would. She smiled happily at him, and he closed the door for her and went around the car to get in. As he turned on the ignition, they both took a deep breath. Gabriella could feel the butterflies in her stomach.

_I think I could like you  
But I keep holding back  
Cause I can't seem to tell  
If you're fiction or fact  
Show me you can laugh  
Show me you can cry  
Show me who you really are  
Deep down inside_

There were already a lot of things going on when they arrived. Gabriella held on tightly to Jason's arm as he pushed them through the crowd. She felt really happy about being there with him. They got quite some attention because people had never expected that. Some started mumbling about the flowers in her locker again, and had they been from Jason Cross? But how could that possibly be?

Gabriella giggled with all her heart and Jason couldn't hide his smile too, as they sat down next to Troy, his date, Taylor and Chad. They were chatting happily. Gabriella eyed the girl Troy had brought and had to resist to roll her eyes; it was the only type he had dated since they broke up. Cheerleaders. It was nothing but. Gabriella actually believed that this was the head cheerleader. But she felt to her own happiness that she didn't care. It was great.

"Should I get us something to drink?" Jason asked, and looked at her.

Gabriella nodded, "That would be great, thank you." she told him, and he nodded. She watched him as he made his way through the mass of bodies, towards the 'bar'. She then turned back and was met by Taylor's questioning eyes, "What?" she wanted to know.

"Do you purposely go for every gay guy you can find?" Taylor wondered aloud. Gabriella could see that she was slightly amused, but didn't want to show it.

Gabriella gave her a look, "No, I don't. Ryan's not gay, and Jason may be, but we're here as friends. Neither of us wanted to go alone."

Taylor shook her head and let out a sigh; she probably gave up trying to get Gabriella to understand. But Gabriella understood; there was nothing for her to get. She knew Ryan wasn't gay, Jason had assured her of that. And she'd show Taylor and the rest of her friends once she had Ryan and could show him off as her boyfriend.

"Hey guys!" Kelsi cheered, as she and Martha arrived at their tables, arms linked. None of them had dates, so they had decided to go together.

Chad pulled a chair out, and Kelsi immediately took a seat, "Hey girls." He said, "Have any of you seen Zeke?"

"He's busy with Ice Royalty." Martha replied, as she grabbed a chair too, "I don't know why he bothers, he must really like her."

"I just don't get what he sees in her." Taylor mumbled. She hated Sharpay and that had never been a secret.

Troy grabbed his cup and gulped something blue down, "She's not that bad once you get to know her." he paused when everyone gave him sceptical looks, "Honestly, I spent some time with her during summer. Yes, she was very sneaky, and I hate her for it, but she has a personality too. I saw her cry."

"Just wonderful." Chad mumbled and leaned back in his chair, "If the Mountain Lion has feelings, we'll never get Zeke away from her. He's there to stay."

Gabriella shook her head at them, "Let him be, okay? Have you considered the fact that she might actually like him? Maybe she's not that good at showing it." she explained, as she thought of Ryan yesterday. He hadn't been able to show her either and she was sure he liked her. It was a feeling, it was a smile during class, those brief touches in the hallway. She was sure of it. And after all, they were twins – she might be just the same.

The table didn't exactly know what to answer her, so she pushed her chair back – she just wanted to get away from them. She hated it when they acted like this. Why were they getting in other people's businesses anyway? What Zeke and Sharpay had didn't matter to them. Why Jason was gay and brought her to the dance was not for their ears. And why she liked Ryan, they shouldn't meddle in. She just did. And that was that.

She went to find Jason again. Apparently he was the only sane person here tonight. She knew she would have to get on better terms with her friends again, and she knew she would be sometime. She just had to get Ryan out of her head first. He was practically all she thought about lately. And if not him, then something related to him.

She used her elbows a lot to get to the bar, and found Jason chatting to a guy from the Drama Club. She knew he was probably interested in him, so she didn't want to bother him. He looked briefly at her, and gave her the drink he had went to get, "Sorry." He said, before he went back to his conversation with a guy who was actually pretty cute. Gabriella shook her head at him, as if to say it was okay, and then went across the room, to find someone she knew. She could see Zeke and Sharpay dancing, but she couldn't see Ryan anywhere. She had kind of wanted to talk to him, but since he wasn't anywhere in sight, she leaned herself against the nearest wall and started sipping her drink. It was the same blue stuff as Troy had been drinking before.

She knew it shouldn't bother her that Jason had found a cute guy, because it had been the plan all along for them to part, so she could find Ryan too. The problem was just that Ryan was nowhere in sight, and now she was bored. The drink didn't taste that good, and the gym was so hot because of all the dancing people. She didn't like the music; the volume was far too high and it was not her style.

She was seriously debating with herself about whether she should just go home or not. She kind of wanted to be there in case Ryan suddenly appeared out of nowhere, but she also didn't want to stand there and look like a loser all by herself all evening. She wondered if anyone was laughing of her already. Nah… they probably hadn't even noticed her. But she still felt silly. Should she go back to the table? But no! That way she'd have to talk to her friends again, and she really didn't want to listen to them.

She got lost in the colour of her drink, her head turned down, and million of thoughts floating through her head. She had a Math quiz on Monday. She'd have to study for that all Sunday. Taylor would probably want to do it together. How would she get out of that? She really didn't want to be with her. But maybe her feelings toward her best friend had changed by Sunday. She could only hope her annoyance was gone.

She looked up again with a huge sigh and was really close to leaving, when her eyes caught the object of her affections. Ryan was making his way through the mass of dancing students; alone. No Sharpette in tow. Gabriella didn't know what to do. She had waited for this moment since she got here. She had to talk to him, hadn't she? He was why she had even bothered to show up and put on a dress. He paused when he saw her.

She didn't know what to do. She offered him a small, insecure smile. He looked around him with a confused look and she lifted her hand slightly, waving him over, gently. He arched an eyebrow and slowly started walking towards her.

_Do you feel something happening?  
Could this be for real?  
I don't know right now but  
__Tonight we'll reveal_

"Hi." He said, as he stopped in front of her, his hands buried in his pockets.

She softy smiled, "Hi."

_Do you know how to touch a girl?  
If you want me so much  
First I have to know  
Are you thoughtful and kind?  
Do you care what's on my mind?  
Or am I just for show?  
You'll go far in this world  
If you know how to touch a girl_

She couldn't take the awkward silence between them, so she sipped her drink and quickly thought of something to say. "Are you here alone?" she questioned, even if she knew that he wasn't. He had either brought Leah, Emma or Jackie – she wasn't quite sure who.

"No." he said, and smiled warmly at her, probably relieved that they were talking now, "I brought Emma. She didn't really have a date, soo…" he trailed off and then curiously looked at her, "What about you? Date?"

"I'm here with Jason." Gabriella quickly explained, and she swore she saw relief in his blue eyes, "As friends. But he found some cute guy in the bar, and now I'm standing here like a loser."

Ryan chuckled, "Am I that horrible to be seen with?"

Gabriella couldn't help but laugh, and it felt good to laugh of his jokes; it felt right, "You know what I meant!" she continued, a playful look across her gorgeous face.

Ryan laughed too, "Yeah, I did." He said, and then watched her as she took another sip of her drink. She had just done it for lack of something to say. She hoped he might come up with something. "Hey…" he awkwardly said, and looked at the dancing students behind him, "…you wanna dance?"

Gabriella could feel her face light up and she excitingly nodded, throwing her drink into the trashcan right next to her, "I'd love to!" she told him, and grabbed his arm, clinging onto it for dear life; this was a good start. He asked her to dance. If they had danced for awhile, they might start talking, and she might be able to approach the subject she really wanted to discuss with him – dates.

He grabbed her tightly as they started dancing to the song. It wasn't anything wild or something, they were able to dance remotely close together, and just enjoy the feeling of each other. Gabriella had a feeling that everybody was looking at her, going 'Why won't she give up!? He's gay! Gay, gay, gay!', but she was probably just paranoid. Everybody was doing their own thing. No one really cared about her when it came down to it.

They continued their dance and a slow sang came on. It was Jojo. 'How to Touch a Girl'. Ironic indeed.

_Do you know how to touch, know how to touch a girl?  
Do you know how to touch, know how to touch a girl?_

"Hey Ryan…" Gabriella softly begun, as they swayed gently to the beat; she had wanted to ask him this. She wanted to know what he wanted that day, she had a feeling he was going to ask her to this dance, but she wanted to hear it from him, "I was wondering… The other day, when you came up to me, what did you really want?"

Ryan grinned goofily at her, "Oh, I guess you saw right through me, huh?" he was silent for a few seconds, and Gabriella let him think to himself; he probably didn't know exactly how to express his thoughts, "Yeah, I didn't exactly have a science test. It's just… I came to ask you to this dance, but I chickened out."

Gabriella smiled warmly and buried her head in his chest for a few seconds while she got control of her butterflies. She pulled back then and looked up at him, love shining through her brown eyes, "Why did you do that? I'm not special. You must have known that I like you too, Ryan. Honestly… it's obvious."

Ryan smiled down at her, "It is?" he questioned.

Gabriella giggled, "Pretty much, yeah." She couldn't keep that smile from her face; it was so weird. She knew she was normally a smiley and happy person, but this was just crazy. Even if he wasn't saying anything funny, she still smiled. It was just being close to him that did it. She had never really experienced it this bad before. With Troy it hadn't been this much. And she had liked him a lot. What couldn't this turn into if she finally got Ryan?

Gabriella wanted to ask him that question. She wanted to know if he liked her. But how do you ask that? She had just told him that she liked him and yet he hadn't said to her that he liked her back. It made her sort of confused… Hadn't that been the perfect time for him to get it out? She would feel so stupid if she asked him, if he liked her, and then he said no. But why… why would he have asked her to the dance, if he didn't like her? She was confused. She didn't know what to do about Ryan. She was dancing with him, having the time of her life, and yet he still… he still managed to get her all confused.

Should she just ask him…?

Before she got that far, Ryan held her even tighter and locked eyes with her. He looked sad all of a sudden. His eyes weren't that sparkly, they just looked dead. It was weird; she had never seen him like that.

"What's wrong?" she gently whispered, her voice barely reaching over the music.

"I know what they say about me." Ryan whispered, his face emotionless. He didn't need to explain any further; she knew what he was referring to, "Your friends, my so-called friends." He paused, and spun her around, before pulling her back in, "They talk about me all the time. It's… hurtful. I wanna prove them wrong. They think they know me. But they don't."

Gabriella felt for him, she really did. She had never been in such a situation, but she could imagine how much it would hurt when someone you thought was your friend, said something behind your back. Ryan had really believed they all liked him, and they acted like friends towards him too – they just talked about him too; said stupid things.

"Well, I'm sorry." She said. She didn't know what to say except that. Why was he bringing this up now? Why was he telling her this right after she revealed that she liked him, and told him that she knew he had wanted to ask her? How did that fit into the conversation? How was that… How did that have anything to do with this?

Ryan touched her cheek, "What are you thinking about? What's on your mind?" he wanted to know.

Gabriella looked up at him, "I was just… wondering, I guess you could say, why you tell me this now." she pulled away from him slightly, creating a little bit of space between them as they danced, "Why is that so important? I just told you I liked you, and then you go say something like that?"

Ryan seemed a bit taken aback by this. Gabriella couldn't blame him. It probably wasn't what he had expected. But at least he had asked her what she thought about, that was more than any other boy she had ever known had ever done. It proved that he was a good guy, but… what did it mean? She felt sort of weird about it. Was he just asking her to the dance because he wanted to prove to those guys that he was not gay? Was that the only reason he really paid attention to her? She couldn't help but think it was. It was a saddening thought… She hated it.

"I guess I just wanted you to know." Ryan shrugged, and then pulled her closer, as if it was no big deal, really. Even if she could tell that it affected him a lot.

Gabriella nodded, but didn't know how to really act around him. How was she ever going to find out if he really did like her? If this was what he wanted. That she wasn't just for show? Some random person he had chosen in his little game. She might be paranoid again, but the others had made her doubt him. With all their lies (or where they truths?) and comments about him. They had made her all confused too…

"Ryan," she then questioned, because she had to know this. She had to, and she was just going to ask. If the answer was negative, she'd just have to suck it up and leave. Just forget about it. She hoped it was positive though, because she was still so very much in love with him, "do you like me?" she finished.

Ryan looked down at her with surprised eyes. Those blue pools were wide and filled with question marks. He looked like he had seen a ghost; she could tell that he didn't know what to answer. That worried Gabriella. It was an easy answer. If he did, he would just say yes. And if he didn't… then what was she doing here? Honestly, really? If he didn't like her, if she was just for show, then why was she dancing with him? Why didn't she just give up and move on? Why didn't she forget all about Ryan Evans, when honestly, he was just using her?

She pulled away from him, and could feel tears forming in her eyes. But she wasn't going to cry in front of him. That was beneath her. She was going to hold them in until she reached the street and was all alone. He looked at her with questioning eyes, but she pulled back even further, shaking her head with him, "That's enough answer for me." she told him, voice quivering slightly.

She turned around and walked away from him, doing her best to keep her cool. She was better than this, she deserved more than this. She was more than just for show.

_Bring me some flowers  
Conversation for hours  
To see if we really connect  
And baby if we do  
Ooh I'll be giving all my love to you  
Ohh_

Gabriella didn't know what was up with herself. She had acted all tough yesterday in front of Ryan; pretended that she was all cool with it, and that it really didn't bother her as much as it did. She was so hurt. When she got home last night she had been in tears. Luckily enough her mother had been asleep so she hadn't seen her; Gabriella had just gone straight to her room and cried even more.

Eventually she had been all dried out, very thirsty and tired. She had gone downstairs to get some water and then went upstairs again to get out of her dress and into something comfortable. She had settled for a pair of boxers and a white t-shirt, which she hadn't been out of since then. It was Saturday now and she had been lazing around all day. She didn't have the strength to do anything.

She thought that, when breaking up with Troy, she had experienced heartbreak. She thought that there she had really had to mend a broken heart, but this was so different. She hadn't even dated him for real, and yet this hurt more. She was so crushed that Ryan could treat her like that; she honestly thought she knew him.

She didn't want to go to school on Monday – she didn't want to see him again. If he tried to talk to her, she'd leave. She would, she couldn't even stand to think about him; how should she be able to talk to him?

Taylor had texted her several times. She wondered where she had gone yesterday when she left the table. She was worried that something had happened when she hadn't seen her for the rest of the night. She had seen Jason with a cute guy, and yet there had been no sight of Gabriella. Gabriella hadn't answered her friend. She didn't want to talk to her. She knew she had to eventually, but right now she really needed to feel bad for herself. She liked to think she wasn't one of those girls who did stuff like that, but she was. She couldn't handle it; she wasn't strong. Back in summer when Troy had hurt her, she hadn't been able to handle it either, and had left him there to himself.

There was a knock on the door and Gabriella lifted her head to see her mother open the door, "Gabby," she said, and curious look in her eye, "there's a guy down here. He needs to speak with you."

Gabriella gave her a sour look, "If his name is Ryan, I don't want to see him."

Her mother looked confused, "But he has flowers, Gabby."

This caught Gabriella's attention. If this wasn't Ryan, then who was bringing her flowers? And if it was Ryan, then why was he bringing her flowers? Was he apologising for last night? Did he want to say something to her? She couldn't live with herself if she turned him down. Even if he had hurt her, didn't he deserve to be listened to? Maybe he had a good explanation. She gave her mother a small smile, "Just send him up, okay?"

The oldest Montez woman smiled warmly and went out of the room again. Gabriella quickly got off of her bed and to her mirror, trying to fix her wild hair and her tired-looking face. She brushed her hair quickly and threw it back in a messy bun, before the door opened and she turned to come face to face with a huge mess of flowers – she believed that it was Ryan behind them.

"Hey." he said, and let his hand fall, giving her a serious look, "These are for you Gabriella." He held the flowers out, and she couldn't help but smile as she took them. They had got to have been expensive. It wasn't exactly a small bouquet.

"Thank you." she softly said, and studied his face for a few seconds. She turned around and took a seat on her bed, watching his every move.

Ryan didn't look totally comfortable right now, but she could see that he was determined to get this done, "Look…" he begun, and awkwardly stuffed his hands into his pockets, "I'm not really sure what happened last night."

Gabriella didn't know if it was a question or a statement, but she decided to tell him what she thought, "Well, we were dancing. I told you how I really felt about you, and I figured out that you must have been using me." she simply said. It was very simple, wasn't it? And he should've known.

Ryan looked really surprised. Like, for real. Gabriella could tell that that definitely hadn't been in his plans, and she immediately felt like an idiot, "Using you?" he questioned and took a seat on the edge of her bed, "What do you mean Gabriella?"

Again with that questioning. He asked her what was on her mind, and she loved him for that, "Well…" she turned to him fully, and knew she probably was the one at fault here; she felt absolutely stupid for not believing in him, "Everyone always says you're gay. And yet I still… I still liked you, no matter what they said." he smiled warmly, and she was urged on to continue, "But I was still scared about it, and then you went and said all that stuff yesterday."

Ryan cut in, "Yes, of course I did." He explained, with a soft voice, "I wanted you to know. In case… in case you really liked me and wanted to be with me, then you should know what everyone was saying."

"I get that now…" she said and scooted closer to him on the bed, just wanting to be closer to him, "But last night I… I jumped to conclusions. And I'm sorry for that. I thought, well, I thought that you just wanted me so you could prove to everyone that you weren't gay." It hurt her to say it, but it was the truth. And Ryan deserved the truth, that much she knew.

"Oh…" it didn't look like Ryan knew what to say, so Gabriella quickly continued.

"And I'm deeply sorry for that." she said, and placed a hand on top of his, "I know it must hurt you to hear this now, but I just, Troy hurt me so much back when we broke up, so I was a little scared by everything."

She hoped that this apology was enough. She couldn't believe how stupid she had been. Ryan had been literally in front of her the entire time, and she might have blown her chance with him. She hoped he could forgive her for this – it was just stupid. She would be so crushed if they didn't get together because of this.

Ryan offered her a smile, "It's okay." he said, "I guess I haven't been the best at expressing my feelings either. We're not like that in my family – you don't do that. No one has feelings, _especially_ not men."

Gabriella nodded understandingly. It was practically what Troy had been saying about Sharpay last night; something about showing their true emotions and all that. Well, he had said something, and she had gotten to that conclusion. She smiled, "So that's why you didn't answer me last night when I asked if you liked me?"

Ryan nodded, an odd look across his face, "Yeah, and I realize that was bad. I just…" he trailed off and looked at his feet for a few seconds, searching for the right words. Then he looked up again, "I don't know how to express myself that well. I hope it's okay, but you have to know that I… like… you. Or what you say. I like you, Gabriella."

Gabriella couldn't help the huge smile that came across her face with those words; it was all she had wanted to hear from him. He liked her, he brought her flowers and listened to her. She wasn't confused anymore, she knew that they would be okay. Ryan liked her. Everything was okay.

She moved a bit closer and awkwardly placed her arms around him, pulling him close for a hug. He was hesitant at first, but eventually he loosened up, and hugged her back, his arms circling around her slender waist. She smiled into his shoulder; she could sit there forever, she really could.

_Do you know how to touch a girl?  
If you want me so much  
First I have to know  
Are you thoughtful and kind?  
Do you care what's on my mind?  
Or am I just for show?  
You'll go far in this world  
If you know how to touch a girl_

When Gabriella checked her watch, she was shocked to see that several hours had gone by, and that she and Ryan had just been talking and talking all day. They had barely left the room to get food or drinks – it had just been the two of them talking; talking about everything and nothing for hours. She really liked that.

Ryan's eyes found the watch too, "I better get home." He told her and stood up. He held his hand out for her to take, and she got off of her bed with help from him, even if she didn't need it.

"Thank you." she smiled warmly at him, and they went to go downstairs; their hands still locked together. She couldn't believe how great this day had turned out in the end. She had been so crushed when she woke up, and now she was just so happy. It is great how life sometimes turns around for you; she was very grateful.

"Hey," Ryan said and turned to look at her fully, as they stood by the open front door, "do you wanna go on a date sometime next week?"

Gabriella had been waiting for that question all day. She had been waiting for him to ask, because she knew it was coming. And it felt good. She could feel the butterflies in her stomach again, as she looked him deeply in the eyes, "I'd love that." she replied.

Ryan smiled warmly too. They hadn't kissed yet, but Gabriella wasn't one to move fast. But she knew she and Ryan would get there. It was just tough because they were both so shy. But she believed they were a perfect match. He bent down and kissed her briefly on the cheek.

_Do you know how to touch, know how to touch a girl?  
Do you know how to touch, know how to touch a girl?_

"I'll get you some flowers." He finished, with a glint in his eye, "This time I'll not put them by your locker, and give them to you instead."

She giggled heartedly when he turned around and left the front porch. She watched him as he got into his car, saw him drive away. She closed the door behind herself and leaned up against it. She squeezed her eyes tightly together and knew she was grinning like an idiot.

Wow.

_You'll go far in this world  
If you know how to touch a girl_

Just wow.

* * *

_Soo, what do you say? Did you like it? I hope you did. I've spent a long time trying to figure out how to go about this little plot bunny, and then when that was done, writing it was a very little part of it. I just… I had this idea about a Ryella with this song, and I just went from there. I'm quite happy about the outcome, so I hope you guys liked it too._

_Please drop me off a review with your thoughts._

_**Disclaimer; **I do not own High School Musical or Jojo's "How to Touch a Girl"._


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